Sony Says No More Battery Recalls

Cock ups in Sony’s cell manufacturing department over the last two years has so far forced Dell and Apple to recall a combined 5.9m batteries, but now apparently everything is hunky dory and – miraculously – not a single Vaio was affected.

In a statement Sony Electronics spokesman Rick Clancy said “As far as Vaio PCs are concerned we don’t anticipate any need for a recall at this time, and that’s true from our understanding of other manufacturers we supply this technology to as well.” Clancy did admit that two Vaios had overheated since the flaw was admitted but said only one was battery related and that was because the owner had installed a counterfeit battery.

By contrast Apple has reported no less than nine incidents of its notebooks overheating due to Sony battery malfunctions (two leading to cases of minor burns) and Dell has admitted to six, including the infamous ‘flaming laptop’ – above – first snapped by The Inquirer.

Of course overheating batteries are nothing new in the notebook sector but usually a failsafe is built in which shortcuts the battery, switching it off before anything so drastic as a fire could occur. Despite today’s proclamation, Sony isn’t out of the woods though. The recall cost is said to be up to $258m and it is under investigation by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and is due a severe wrist slap.

In related news for the paranoid amongst you - not just Vaio owners - QuietPC has rather coincidentally launched the ZM-NC1000 Ultra Quiet Notebook Cooler (above). This tray-like base reduces heat using two near silent centrifugal fans, guards against burns and is powered by connecting directly to a USB port, meaning no additional wires.

It weighs just over 1Kg and is available in either black or silver. At £32.99 including VAT it may be a pretty sensible option in this current climate of crash and burn.